Advances in semiconductor fabrication have allowed millions of circuit elements such as transistors to be placed on a single integrated circuit. Such densely packed integrated circuits typically operate at low power and high frequencies. During operation of an integrated circuit, transistors contained therein may be continuously switched, thereby rapidly changing currents flowing within the integrated circuit. The availability of current for switching operations may affect one or more voltages associated with the integrated circuit. Therefore, if sufficient current is not available for the switching operations, voltage fluctuations may erroneously change the state of the integrated circuit or integrated circuit components.
To provide sufficient current during switching of transistors, decoupling capacitors may be placed at strategic locations on power consuming circuits. For example, in a Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), a matrix of array capacitors may be placed at one or more locations along the power grid where current spikes may be likely. Placing localized decoupling capacitors along the power grid near a circuit element provides a source of current during spikes in current requirements. Therefore, effects of voltage fluctuations may be made less severe. For example, when a greater amount of current is desired, electrical charge stored in the capacitor may flow to the circuit element, thereby providing an additional source of current. Providing additional current may make reduce or eliminate voltage fluctuations.